Minister Morrison has announced the processing of visas will recommence for residents of the Democratic Republic of Congo as the World Health Organisation (WHO) has now declared the West African nation Ebola free.

Processing of over 200 visa applications from that country had been paused during the outbreak. (more…)

A system fault has been identified in the ImmiAccount ENS 186 / RSMS 187 online lodgement system. Where an application for an ENS 186 is made for a company with an address in a regional area, the online system defaults to an RSMS 187 application.

The Department is aware of the problem and working to fix it. In the interim, urgent ENS nominations can be lodged using the system under the 187 default. You can contact the relevant PESE section to inform them of the issue with the processing and also log a complaint with IT Support at e-Service.Support@immi.gov.au (more…)

Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash, has announced today the release of the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service’s new Tourist Refund Scheme (TRS) mobile and web applications.

Minister Cash said the new applications are intuitive and will help facilitate faster refund claims for Goods and Services Tax (GST) and Wine Equalisation Tax (WET) by departing passengers. (more…)

People could be denied citizenship or in some cases have their citizenship revoked over drug abuse or mental illness.

People could be denied Australian citizenship or have their citizenship revoked, under certain conditions, if they are ordered to undertake drug rehabilitation or a residential program for the mentally ill, under legislation that passed the House of Representatives on Monday.

The Australian citizenship and residential amendment bill will face a challenge in the Senate, where Labor and the Greens oppose it. (more…)

Joint media release with the Australian Federal Police, the NSW Police Force, NSW Crime Commission and the Australian Crime Commission

29-11-2014 –

Six men have today been charged by the Joint Organised Crime Group (JOCG) for their involvement in the attempted importation of almost three tonnes of MDMA and crystal methamphetamine (ice) into Sydney.

This seizure is estimated to be worth up to $1.5 billion on the street. (more…)

The Migration Amendment (Protection and Other Measures) Bill 2014 will clarify the ‘risk threshold test’ to applied when assessing protection visa applications based on Australia’s protection obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (the ICCPR) and the Convention againstTorture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (the CAT). (more…)

The Migration Amendment (Character and General Visa Cancellation) Bill 2014 has been passed by both Houses of Parliament and will come into effect when Royal Assent has been given by the Governor General.

Schedule 1 of the Bill amends the character test provisions and Schedule 2 amends the general visa cancellation powers of the Migration Act 1958. The purpose of the amendments are designed to ‘strengthen the powers to refuse to grant, or to cancel, a visa on character grounds by inserting additional grounds on which a person will not pass the character test’. (more…)

Gold Coast Migration

Mandatory Registration

Registered to provide Australian immigration law advice and visa services [MARA No.: 1569479]. We are required to act in accordance with the Migration Agents Code of Conduct. If you have any feedback about our services, please contact info@goldcoastmigration.com.au